Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi’s appointment of the EFF’s Nkululeko Dunga as provincial finance MEC has brought to the surface a battle set to define the ANC’s future — one that is becoming a proxy fight as its presidential succession race hots up.
The crux of the conflict is who the ANC should choose as partners in governing, a debate that has raged within the party since coalitions became an inescapable political fixture at national and provincial level in the 2024 elections.
For many party insiders, the choices are bleak: the EFF, whose stated reason for existence is to destroy the ANC; Jacob Zuma’s MK Party, which was set up to foment conditions for a “reverse takeover” of the ANC by Zuma; or the DA, a partner in the GNU but ideologically at odds with the ANC’s radical majority.
The political fallout from the move to appoint Dunga is telling.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula suggested on the sidelines of the Solomon Mahlangu memorial event on Monday that Lesufi did not have Luthuli House’s backing for the move.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile contradicted this, saying the ANC has always been open to working with the EFF and MK. He said “we [the national leadership] support that” — Dunga’s appointment — and welcomed the fact that the Gauteng ANC leadership and the EFF had “found each other”.
Mbalula and Mashatile are both set to contest the party presidency next year when President Cyril Ramaphosa’s second term as party leader ends.
The internal battle in the ANC over working with the DA, on the one hand, and “black parties” (as the SACP calls them) on the other, has pitted the Gauteng leadership against some powerful national leaders.
Even within Gauteng, there are key regions that are averse to working with the EFF.
That’s why Lesufi found a spot for him in his executive — to protect himself from being removed in a motion of no confidence brought by the DA
Ekurhuleni mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza fired Dunga from the metro’s finance portfolio, raising concerns over his handling of the municipal audit and a R2bn security tender. Dunga was also involved in a car accident that led to the death of a cyclist; his personal BMW was illegally fitted with blue lights.
Dunga’s removal by Xhakaza angered the EFF, which threatened to withdraw its support for the ANC at provincial level. That’s why Lesufi found a spot for him in his executive — to protect himself from being removed in a motion of no confidence brought by the DA, and to ensure the stability of ANC-led coalitions in the province’s other metros, Joburg and Tshwane.
But Lesufi’s political position remains tenuous within the ANC. He is co-leading a task team in the province, a temporary structure until fresh internal elections are held. The conference meant to elect a permanent leadership structure, scheduled for May, has been postponed until after the local government elections.
The FM understands that those opposed to Lesufi’s handling of coalitions in Gauteng are hoping that the national leadership will be able to take control of negotiations after the municipal elections.
Either way, the ANC’s Gauteng problem is set to have a profound impact on its overall electoral performance, given that it is polling at a mere 15% in the province, according to the party’s own surveys.
Important ANC constituencies have been loud in their opposition to Dunga’s appointment.
ANC Veterans’ League chair Snuki Zikalala tells the FM that the biggest problem with the appointment is that it bypassed the ANC’s own national framework agreement on how coalitions should be negotiated.
“They veered off the framework agreement, which did not give them the latitude to go on their own. So now that’s why they find themselves in this mess, because you get involved in small minority parties where there is instability,” says Zikalala.
What is worse, he says, is that the EFF is fishing for voters from the same pool as the ANC, and it does not honour the country’s constitutional values.
“The EFF has got no programme of transformation, none at all. No programme of service delivery. You can’t bring in a lion and say that lion must take care of your sheep. Putting an individual [such as Dunga] in such a position affects the integrity and dignity of the organisation.” Zikalala expressed doubt that the ANC’s national leadership had agreed to Lesufi’s move.
The ANC Youth League in Gauteng described Dunga’s appointment as a “political gimmick” that will not benefit the people of the province. The South African National Civic Organisation also expressed concern.
The EFF, predictably, hailed Lesufi, saying he had chosen stability over political expedience.
The ANC’s national working committee is set to discuss the appointment.
What is clear is that the party in Gauteng remains on the back foot, helpless to arrest the plunge in electoral support, which accelerated dramatically after Lesufi became premier in 2022.
In getting into bed with the EFF and shunning the DA, the provincial ANC represents a stark departure from party policy elsewhere, given the alliances with the DA in the GNU and in KwaZulu-Natal.
This raises a bigger strategic question that remains to be settled: is the national ANC willing and able to enforce its will on provincial and municipal structures? If it cannot do this when it comes to the basic mechanisms of power, then little coherence can be expected in its policies and actions in government.
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